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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Anniversary (04/11/05)
Today was the fifth anniversary of the third time Edie cheated on her first husband (and the time she got caught). It was also the third anniversary of the first time she had come into this shabby little diner that I called my home away from home - where I sat in a booth with a cup of coffee while I struggled with yet another plot twist in the novel I've been working on for seven years now.

It sounds like a cliché to say that the night I met Edie was a dark and stormy night, but it was. The wind shook windows until the waitress working the floor that night looked terrified they would crash into the diner. There was no one there besides that waitress, the cook and me. I was so engrossed in the newest development in my novel I never would have known if it did happen.

Somehow, over the roar of the wind outside, I remember hearing the jangling of the doorbells, and looked up to see a thin waif of a woman struggle towards the front counter to sit on a stool. Stringy dark hair covered her head, and from behind the hair peered out the gauntest pair of brown eyes I had ever seen. In them I saw the most troubled soul I would ever meet - and the greatest love of Kevin’s life (outside of Jesus Christ).

Edie's husband had left her after he discovered her with that other man, divorced her, and left her with nothing. That night, she was at the bottom of the heap and looking for someone to help her out. It also was the night Kevin was supposed to pick me up and take us home because he had the car while his was in the shop.

Kevin showed up on time, just as the young woman at the counter was ordering a cup of coffee everyone in the diner at the time knew she couldn't possibly afford to buy. When I saw Kevin come in, I nodded in her direction, and he nodded back before taking a seat at the counter beside her. It wasn't the kind of romance novel type of meeting, but it became the start of first a good friendship, then an even better romance.

Tonight, Kevin was waiting outside, nervously tapping his foot. The waitress out on the floor just started today, so I had to tell her the story. I sat in my normal spot at my normal table, my notebook sitting just beyond reach with a pencil as I ate and looked like I was chewing on a particularly good twist to my novel, when in reality my mind was buzzing with excitement.

Right on time, Edie came into the diner - a much changed woman from the first time she had come in. Kevin and I had been part of the impetus for her to turn her life around, and her appearance reflected the dramatic change. She wore a somber smile on her face as she greeted me and proceeded to the counter, because this particular anniversary was a difficult one for her.

As soon as Edie's back was to the door, I picked up my pencil as the prearranged signal for Kevin, and he nodded once determinedly before coming in to take a seat beside the woman who was so dear to him. She looked up, gave him a peck on the cheek and asked him why he was there.

My delighted eyes watched as Kevin turned her to face him, then took her hands in his.

"You know I love you, Edie," he said, holding those hands as if for dear life. "And I know how many bad memories you have because of what happened before on this day. I want to change that - to make this day a happy anniversary."

One hand let go, and dug around in his pocket for the ring that his father had proposed to me with thirty eight years before. He pulled it out, looked steadily into her eyes and asked her to marry him. She looked at him in shock for a second, then flung herself at him whispering her answer and crying, and I knew it was going to be okay. Today was the start of a new anniversary for her - the first day of a new life with the man she loved.
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Member Comments
Member
Date
vicki mccollum
04/18/05
This was fun reading. I really liked all the suspense in the first half, the writer sitting meeting this woman, perhaps the first time, the wind blowing, etc, made me wonder if this was her fictional character she was writing about -meeting the character for the first time. It really kept my interest. Good job.
darlene hight
04/18/05
Beautiful! Reminds me of the book of Hosea.
Lynne Gaunt
04/19/05
Although your first paragraph was confusing, it also intrigued me and kept me reading. I also liked how you set the scene in the diner - I felt as if I was there. My only struggle was that I thought you (the writer) were Kevin's wife! I kept looking back to see if I'd missed something, but then you spelled it out in the end. This was fun to read, thanks for sharing your work.
David Stewart
04/21/05
I thought you were Kevin's buddy, partner, pal, ya see. It is a scene right out of a film noir. Like Sam Spade I'm happy to play along and get the details later.Great story. Had me right in there seeing all the characters including the wind and rain blowing outside. Just needed a little clarification in the beginning. Still an excellent story and writing. dave